Fantasy Football: This is the year of the unknown running back

Thursday

Nov 29, 2007 at 12:01 AMNov 29, 2007 at 8:57 PM

As I watched Denver backup Andre Hall run and catch for 167 total yards against the Bears last weekend, I thought about his injured teammate, Selvin Young, who two weeks ago, had 129 total yards and a touchdown.

Paul Anthony Arco

As I watched Denver backup Andre Hall run and catch for 167 total yards against the Bears last weekend, I thought about his injured teammate, Selvin Young, who two weeks ago, had 129 total yards and a touchdown.

When I saw highlights of Kansas City rookie Kolby Smith running wild over the hapless Raiders, it reminded me of Cincinnati’s Kenny Watson, who rushed for 130 yards and three TDs while subbing for injured starter Rudi Johnson in Week 7.

This fantasy football campaign will best be remembered as the year of the unknown running back.

It started in Week 1 when Tennessee’s Chris Brown, not an unknown but certainly not a household name, ran for 175 yards. It also was Derrick Ward’s debut when he replaced injured Giants starter Brandon Jacobs.

The list is endless. In Green Bay, first it was DeShawn Wynn and now Ryan Grant. In Indy, Kenton Keith was a stud in Week 5. How about Tampa Bay’s Ernest Graham?

Sammy Morris, Justin Fargas and Jason Wright all had starring roles, albeit briefly. Who’s next? It could be the Bears’ Adrian Peterson, who gets his first start this week.

Extra Points

What’s wrong with Tom Brady? Throwing just one touchdown in a game is completely unacceptable. For the first time this season, Brady failed to throw at least three TDs in a game as the Patriots beat the Eagles. But he did throw for 380 yards, his second-highest of the season. All is forgiven.

It didn’t take long for the Ricky Williams experiment to come to a crashing halt. His season lasted all of six carries. Ironically, he was injured during a fumble. I guess he can break out the pipe again.

Don’t look now but I think the Vikings defense just intercepted another Eli Manning pass for a touchdown.

Any time WR Marvin Harrison wants to play again this season will be fine by me.

It’s hard to believe you could pass for 484 yards and be the goat of the game. But that’s what happened to Kurt Warner, who coughed up the game in the end zone with a game-losing fumble in Arizona’s overtime loss to San Francisco.

I’m sure I speak for all Cedric Benson owners when I say “thanks for a great season, Ced.” Your 3.4 yards per carry will be sorely missed.

Cleveland at Arizona. Fantasy football owners love the Browns and Cardinals. All they do is score points and they don’t play any defense. Arizona QB Kurt Warner is expected to play despite suffering bruised ribs against the 49ers. The Cardinals have scored 30 or more points in each of their last three games. The Browns give up 131 yards per game on the ground, so look for RB Edgerrin James to have a big day.

Cleveland WR Braylon Edwards has 11 TD receptions and should add to that this week. RB Jamal Lewis might struggle to duplicate last week’s 134-yard effort against Houston.

Mailbag

Which player or transaction are you thankful for this fantasy season?

“My waiver wire transaction that I’m most thankful for is picking up Ryan Grant,” e-mailed Tim Connors of Freeport. “He has helped my running game immensely and has catapulted me into the playoffs.”

“I am thankful for Minnesota RB Adrian Peterson,” e-mailed John Parrott of Rockford. “I have him in two leagues, both are protection leagues. I will be even more thankful if he comes back for the fantasy playoffs and produces like he did before being injured.”

Question of the Week

Which Chicago running back, Cedric Benson or Adrian Peterson, will turn out to be the more productive fantasy player, and why?

Paul Anthony Arco is the fantasy football columnist for the Rockford Register Star. E-mail questions or comments to paularco@aol.com.